The Phantom Tollbooth

A war between words and numbers sets the stage for this classic fantasy novel, which author Norton Juster says he created in order to help readers uncover "the joy of discovering that learning can be fun." One day a disaffected boy named Milo receives a mysterious gift of a turnpike tollbooth--through which he is able to enter the magical world of The Lands Beyond. Once there, he is caught up in the battle between two warring brothers--King Azaz of the Kingdom of Dictionopolis, the city of words, and the Mathemagician of the Kingdom of Digitopolis, the city of numbers. The brothers have been engaged in a years-long feud over the superiority of numbers vs. words. In fact, the last thing they agreed on was that their adopted sisters, the Princess Rhyme and the Princess Reason, should be banished to the Castle in the Air because they declared that words and numbers are equally important. Since that time, The Lands Beyond have been in chaos. Now it is up to Milo and his newfound friends, Tock the Watchdog and the Humbug, to return Rhyme and Reason to The Lands Beyond. But before they can, they must deal with such obstacles as the awful DYNNE, the Everpresent Wordsnatcher, and the Terrible Trivium. Illustrated with B&W drawings created by celebrated cartoonist (and Juster's onetime neighbor) Jules Feiffer.